The present invention relates to the construction of three-dimensional objects made from a stack of cut sheets and, in particular, it concerns reducing the deformation along a cut contour edge of a sheet caused by the cutting process.
Various systems for the construction of three-dimensional objects by stacking layers that represent a “slice” of the object are known and there are various methods and devices for doing so. Many of these systems involve the bonding together of a number of shaped laminations or layers to form the three-dimensional object. Systems such as that disclosed in published patent application WO9934976 first bond a new layer in place and then cut the contour necessary to form that slice of the object being constructed. When the cutting instrument is a blade or other solid element, it has been noted that during the process of cutting the contour, the sheet edges along the new cut may rise or curl. This deformation could reduce the effectiveness of the bonding and may lead to situations that could impair the overall operation of the system.
There is therefore a need for a method and device that will reduce deformation along cut edges. It would be desirable for the deformation to be reduced on each sheet before the next sheet is added to the stack. It would be further desirable for the deformation to be reduced in conjunction with the cutting operation, thereby reducing the time required for reducing the deformation and thus the time required for the entire process of constructing the three-dimensional object.